I drive up to the Peg Leg monument and put some paperbacks in the mailbox.

Blog reader Patty (www.petarock.com) sees me and walks over with her little dog, Bella. (We arranged yesterday to meet at nine this morning.)

Bridget and Spike tumble out of the PTV, and , of course, immediately give Bella the going over, sniffing head to toe. Bella takes it in stride.

What a little cutie!

Patty shows us Bella’s stroller.

We decide to test it for multiple riders.

Before we leave, Patty gives me a tour of her Class C motorhome. It seems so big compared to the BLT!

Next the crew and I go into Borrego Springs.

I want to see the rest of Ricardo Breceda’s metal sculptures which are located along Borrego Springs Road, south of town. I park and let the crew out. Together we walk over to a couple of sculptures. I take a few photos, and I realize it’s not the right time. Too hot and the light is too harsh.

“We should do this another day, early in the morning. Let’s go.”

I know! We’ll go to the Visitor’s Center. It’s an excellent facility displaying various native plants outside and showcasing desert animals inside. I browse the gift shop and read some of the area’s history. I can’t stay long because the crew is out in the PTV. I take some photos of the animals in the exhibits.

Can you identify these?

Next stop is PAWS thrift store.

I already scoped out the Frugal Coyote the last time we were in town. It’s very nice as far as thrift stores go. It wasn’t my lucky day, and I didn’t find anything I wanted.

Today is my lucky day!

I find four Audubon field guides for only a dollar each. I’ve wanted these for a long time, but I always balked at the price, being a serious thrift-miser. I also choose a camp shirt for $2.

On the way out I bump into Patty, pushing Bella in her stroller. Bella looks happy to have it all to herself again.

At this point I realize I forgot to eat breakfast. I’m starving!

On the way back to camp I consider staying here for another week, maybe longer. The land we’re camped on is private, so there isn’t a day limit to concern us. The town and surrounds are interesting and fun. Water, propane, dump station, groceries, and gas are all within a reasonable distance. The weather is perfect — warm in the day and pleasantly cool in the evening. We save a bundle by not moving.

57 Responses to Bopping around Borrego!

I was just introduced to your postings. Enjoy them very much as we have spent many a winter in that area. Be sure to hike the Palm Canyon to the end where the waterfall, pond & palm trees are. We saw big horn sheep along the trail. We stayed for 12 years at the Fountain of Youth Spa 15 miles north of Niland. Go to there web site – it is a paradise place to stay. You spoke of low income Niland – you missed Bombay Beach. That is a real blighted area. Welfare has to be the main income. Too bad because in the 70’s it was a nice place. It makes Niland look good. Anza Borego is lovely. So many places to hike & explore. I love that area.
I signed up on Word Press for e-mail notification of your new posts.

That hike sounds wonderful. I assume that’s part of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park and dogs aren’t allowed on the trails. You were very fortunate to see the sheep as they are very shy.

No, I didn’t miss Bombay Beach. I drove through there the day I left Salt Creek Primitive Area on the Salton Sea. I described it in that post (I realize you’re new to my blog so you haven’t read that one . . . yet. :)) It’s hard to imagine it was once a popular place for the rich and famous.

I’ve gotten so many neat ideas from you! Your blog is a blessing in more ways than you know!

The SLIK Pro Pod came in the mail today! (Thanks, Sue!:-) The wrist strap will be awesome to keep both the stick and the attached camera off the ground, yet handy! I can now ‘donate’ my old Grand Canyon wooden stick to a camping friend! ……and give away that tiny tripod, too!

I was so impressed with that, that I went back and read your entire blog (from the beginning) this past 2 weeks ! I read your entire 1st year of the blog, and up until the time I first found you. You have amazing patience to have done so much planning and preparation! I understand so much more, now! Everything you write has a new meaning!! (GRIN)

I’m a retired educator after 35 years, too, so I have a greater respect for your need for privacy with that shared background!
Stay peaceful and happy!

We love Borrego Springs & surrounding area & have many pleasant memories from time spent there over the past 5 years. We always stay out at the Clark Dry Lake Bed just off Rockhouse Road. There are some nice & easily walkable trails right behind Peg Leg. Great views from up there & a very large snake made of rocks. Am hoping we can make it to Boreggo again this winter. Can’t miss my annual hike up Ghost Mountain…….

It was nice to meet you and the crew today! Spike and Bridget are going to want a big dog stroller they can both ride in now, especially lazy Bridget. 🙂 You might even be able to zip them in completely, and take them inside stores that normally don’t allow dogs, especially when it’s too hot to leave them in the PTV. They let me take Bella in stores in the stroller

It was nice to meet you, too, Patty. I’m looking forward to reading those books you gave me. Thanks.

You know, I didn’t consider the stroller for Bridget and Spike until I read your comment. It’s something to think about. It would be nice to be able to go shopping with them, especially, like you say, when it’s hot. Today I could’ve spent more time at the Visitors Center. Of course, there’s always the chance Spike would go ballistic over some perceived threat (go figure) and tear right through the screen window. It would be just like rvsue and her canine crew to make a big scene in a store . . . Gotta give this some careful thought!

I’m glad you made it home okay. Maybe we’ll meet again . . . BTW I looked at your website and realized I’d seen it before. I recognized your paintings. Very well done.

Glad you like the books. What a coincidence that you’ve seen my website before, thanks for the compliments about my painted rocks.

Forgot to tell you there was a Graco baby stroller at that thrift store for $5. It’s the “base” you use to put a baby carrier in. (I bought one at a thrift store a few months ago as an extra stroller for Bella, so I could keep one in the RV and one at home.) The “base stroller” has a big basket to hold stuff under a carrier, and I just put Bella in that bottom basket. It’s a little floppy, so I put a large plastic dish pan in it that Bella sits in. Of course it isn’t as good as a dog stroller where you can zip them in, especially if they tend to jump out, but Bella loves to ride and never jumps out. 🙂 Still might work for your walks when Bridget is being stubborn about walking.

It’s not at all difficult to find a place to camp here. It’s a large area of private land off of S22 (road that goes from Salton City to Borrego Springs) and off of Rockhouse Road and Henderson Canyon Road (the latter two branch off of S22) You can see people camped along any of these roads. The sand is pretty firm all over and there are a lot of “roads” to follow across the desert, but the desert still looks good. You’ll see fire rings at places where people have camped before. Doesn’t matter what size rig you have, you can find a good spot, either with a group or off by yourself.

I know I hit the mother lode! One is a guide to western forests… has everything in it, full color photos. Another is everything about the Pacific coast … plants, fish, birds, trees, mushrooms, ferns, shells, etc. Another one is wildflowers of the West and the fourth one is wildflowers of the canyons in the Southwest. Quite a haul for $4 total!

No, I’m not in a rush at all. Winter is my time to slow down.

I bet you’re excited about your South Africa trip. I hope you have a wonderful time!

No, you don’t need to get permission. I don’t even know who owns it. There’s a rumor that the state bought the land, but I don’t see any evidence of that, and since when does California have money to buy up land . . .

You just drive on one of the dirt roads and pick your spot or drive into one of the big, flat areas where motorhomes are congregated.

One thing I haven’t mentioned that I like about this dispersed camping area . . . It isn’t trashed. Unlike some places in the desert, you don’t walk on broken glass and find trash lying around.

The stroller pics are so cute!! I’ve been meaning to mention the backpack Trotters and I have – I think it’s called “The Dog Gone Device” pet backpack. It’s really nice if you want to go on a hike on bumpy terrain and your friend needs a lift. Of course, your back has to be in good enough shape to be carrying them!! We use it for bike riding. Trotters loves to bike ride on my back. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier – you might have put it to good use when Bridget was hurt. 🙂

That’s okay. The stroller worked fine. I liked that I could see her and monitor whether she was getting uncomfortable. It must be fun to have Trotters go with you on your bike rides! What a funny sight!

I looked at a great stroller for dogs up to 100 lbs. (Bridget and Spike weight 25 lbs. each, give or take). It would be so much fun to push them around museums and stores! The dang thing costs $249! No way! I will keep it in mind though, in case I need it when the crew gets into old age.

I looked on ebay and wow, they do have a lot of strollers. The crew would need the large kind which run around $169, a lot cheaper than store price, but still a lot. I haven’t decided whether a stroller would work for us or not and how many times we would have occasion to use it. I have to consider every purchase carefully, not only for budget reasons.. . also the space. Thanks for the suggestion, Jim. I should use ebay more often.

Oh how funny! I actually ended up at the visitor center today too! On the other hand I did not know about that thrift store…I love me some good thrift store shopping so will have to go over there and see it. LOVE the stroller shots. I’m actually amazed that all 3 doggies seem so relaxed and happy to be in it together.
Nina

That is funny . . .like minds . . . I want to go back to the visitors’ center, not only to take my time reading the history and browsing around, but also to wander on the walkways, looking at all the displays of desert plants.

Well, I don’t know how happy the three doggies are in that stroller. In the third photo Spike has the look that I know means “I’d like to bite your head off.” Fortunately he controlled himself. And Bridget, of course, looks traumatized because she doesn’t have the stroller all to herself. Other than that, they’re a relaxed and happy trio!

Well you caught the shots well! By the way since we talked about this the other day, I found an easy weather widget which works on my wordpress blog. You’ve got to update it each time you move, but basically you just copy and paste the code into a text box and it shows up right in your side-bar. Just put it on my blog today and I got it from this site: http://www.wunderground.com/stickers/
Nina

I put YoWindow back up. It seems to be more accurate than before. Thanks anyway. I like the way YoWindow shows scenes. Click on it and you’ll see what I mean. If you look at the night scene, it has shooting stars. These things are very important, of course.

I think it is so neat that you meet people who read your blog. What a darling picture of the three pups together in that last picture.
The visitor center looks pretty interesting. I could just see Spike barking at the animals. lol
I go to thrift stores occasionally, to check them out, but I never seem to find anything. You did good.
I see there is another Ginger posting a comment. Guess I better start putting Ginger in Las Vegas so you know.

I am thrilled that I have found your blog. It is nice to “meet” new fellow travelers. We have been following Nina and Paul’s Wheelingit for a couple of years and klicked on the link to your blog in their most recent post. We met Nina in Desert Hot Springs and will be heading to Anzo Borrego in January – can’t wait.

Kori met Bridget & Spike when you up in Northern NV…at 23lbs, she goes just about everywhere with us .. My System: if the store has shopping carts, I keep a cheap pillow with a waterproof cover and regular pillow case in the car, I set it on the the bottom of the shopping cart, then lift and put her into the cart. I hold her leash while pushing the cart, not necessary, more of a precaution & reassurance to store/other customers. I do this at Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Thirft Shops, etc – I also have a stroller which i use for places without carts i.e, JC Pennys, Kohls, and Visitor Center’s (like Shasta Dam & Mt Lassen). Makes a HUGE difference in portability. Strollers aren’t cheap, agreed, but the cost benefit is significant when it comes to your options & stress level – no more choosing to “leave them in the car” – not good for them (or you,, rush rush) vs “can’t go in”, frustrating for you!

It seems like a lot of stores have become more pet-friendly. You sure do get Kori into a lot of stores! My situation, of course, isn’t the same. Bridget is like a sack of corn meal in a cart or stroller, so she’s no worry. Spike, however, is an unknown factor. What IS known about Spike is he’s unpredictable. As he gets older, he’s less so… Maybe it would work. I have to weigh the cost against the likelihood of a stroller actually working for the crew and the frequency with which we’d use it. Hmmm . . . Sure would be fun if it worked!

Glad you are having a good time at Borrego. The pictures are great but the one of the 3 in the stroller is the best!!! Just what Bridget and Spike need….a stroller built for 2. Sassy sends a big HELLO to her cousins. Love you, My Sister

Love the pictures and the new ‘headline’ picture is GREAT but you getting a ‘Roswell Look’ about you……be careful when you camp in New Mexico, espescially if you push the crew around in a stroller with a strange hat on………

OMG the CREW and friend are so cute in that stroller. If I have any money after Christmas that is the first thing I am going to buy for my Barking Chihuahua. There was an article in the AZ Republic today about hiking in Palm Canyon–now I really want to go after the comments,

“On the way back to camp I consider staying here for another week, maybe longer.”

I think what I most appreciate about your adventuring is your ability to remain light on your feet, and go or stay at a given location as the spirit moves you. It’s the opposite of how I’ve traditionally approached our RV-adventuring, and I enjoy living vicariously through you in this regard.

Part of my tendency to lock down reservations way in advance may be a byproduct of living in populous S. California. The booking window for, as an example, summertime beach camping reservations here is about 60 seconds. Yes, 60 seconds. After that, everything is booked solid and you’re out of luck until next year.

I can understand your Southern Cal state of mind. I come from the other end of the spectrum. I never make reservations… for dinner, for anything! If I have to reserve, I don’t go. My mood changes too much.

That’s why I love boondocking with solar power. Since I don’t have to camp in a campground with hookups, I’m free to wander according to my own timing and can change my mind without forfeiting any money.

Loved the three dogs in the stroller, especially their expressions; however, I was a good girl and did the quiz about what the animals were, guessed the ones I thought I knew and then went to the bottom of the pictures like you do in the magazines and NO ANSWERS. What gives? Now I’m left hanging not knowing if I’m right or wrong. How could you do this to me! Just kidding…always love to read about what’s going on with you and the crew.

The three in the stroller look if they are being tolerant of sharing the space, but just – very amenable doggies. Bella has the look of a wee gremlin, very cute. Thre stroller for dogs is a good idea, especially if it’s collapsible and easy to store. You do have to carefully consider your space alottments, living as you do.
Good score on the natural history books! You could consider finding the crew aome rather sweet bonnets ( for the sun) to pass them off as your children who might perhaps inherited more Transylavanian genes than expected, but ” Vive la difference”. G

Bridget looks as tho she’d rather not be that close to Spike when he has THaT look on his his face. we were in a restaurant at the coast I oR, when a woman brought in a stroller with soup in it. the jig was up when pup spotted me and barked , suffice to say, pup was hustled out the door!